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The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier
The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1996. Contents The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier is split into two maps and three books, which detail the wilderness and cities of the region of the Forgotten Realms known as The North, and takes an in-depth look at the city of Daggerford. "The Wilderness" book is an overview of the region, establishing the difference between places, laying down time lines and building up the lands north of Waterdeep. The booklet also assesses each area for its orc raiding tendencies, elf magic potential, the populace's attitude to things like foreigners and magic, and offers further details on characters and the powers of each realm. The "Cities" book touches on each town and city in the North and introduces all the important characters there. The "Daggerford" book fleshes out Daggerford with a variety of NPCs. Publication history Reception Trenton Webb reviewed The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier for Arcane magazine, rating it a 6 out of 10 overall. He comments that "What the crowd wants is berserk barbarians and arcane magicians battling orc hordes - and that's just what the crowd gets". He adds that "The North achieves what it sets out to do - fill out the top of the Forgotten Realms maps with cities, peoples, legends, monsters and treasure" and that "it offers fair, if not brilliant, value" for the price. Webb complains about the maps: "While portraying accurately the 'world being discovered' cartography, these are a rather annoying asset. Lacking any kind of co-ordinate system, each new city that's mentioned sends you back for yet another session of scouring these vast sheets for information. What's more, this activity isn't helped by the odd mistake" between the text and the map. He comments on the overview style of "The Wilderness" book: "Covering such a vast area so quickly ... leaves the Wilderness with a scant, breathless feel as it rushes between locations. The coverage is competent, but as is the nature of such overviews, the descriptions are functional lists of facts and stats, with little time for embellishments. Consequently, the cold land described comes over in an almost lifeless manner." Webb commented that the "Cities" book "gets a little more personal, dropping in on each town and city in the North just long enough to introduce you to all the important folk. At times this book could almost be mistaken for a Good Pub Guide, because the only notable feature listed for many of the smaller towns is an inn, but then adventurers are much more likely to be looking for a hot meal and a large mug of ale than the nearest craft shop." He felt that the "Daggerford" book illustrates "just how life goes on in a harsh frontier town. Daggerford itself is a little sparse, almost to the point of being bleak, but that reflects the very real nature of these lawless lands. The true nature of the North is forged from the fact that everyone in Daggerford appears to be an adventurer - either retired, learning or on sabbatical. The result is a rich mine of rumour, skill and knowledge from which great adventures can be created." Webb concludes his review by stating: "The North does offer enough nuggets of information to make it a suitable base for a campaign. Players who wander this way will find a refreshingly uncluttered place that allows - almost encourages - folks to go about their hacking business." Reviews *''Dragon'' #235 References Category:1996 books Category:Forgotten Realms sourcebooks